“We are investigating the theft of a 1.6 million year old megalodon (ancient shark) tooth on the Ningaloo Coast,” tweeted the Parks and Wildlife Service of Western Australia's Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions Monday.

We are investigating the theft of a 1.6 million year old megalodon (ancient shark) tooth on the Ningaloo Coast. Any info can be reported to Parks and Wildlife Service Exmouth office (08) 9947 8000. pic.twitter.com/7xbuiBhHNJ

A giant predator, the now-extinct megalodon reached about 60 feet in length. The BBC reports that the megalodon tooth was one of two on the Ningaloo Coast, a vast and strikingly beautiful UNESCO World Heritage site.

The megalodon, which is believed by some to be an ancestor of the great white shark, lived from 16 million to 2 million years ago, according to LiveScience.

Only a handful of people knew the location of the tooth, which was attached to rock, according to the BBC report. Arvid Hogstrom, a spokesman for Western Australia's Department of Environment and Conservation told the BBC that staff hid the tooth with “natural features.” The rare artifact, which was in a “semi-secret” location, was likely removed with a hammer and chisel.

A member of the public reported the missing tooth to park rangers on Friday, March 9, according to a Facebook post by the Parks and Wildlife Service.

Last year, vandals wrecked a dinosaur footprint in rock at a renowned paleontology site in Australia.

Although rare, megalodon teeth have been discovered in other parts of the world. A huge megashark tooth, for example, was unearthed in 2016 on North Myrtle Beach, S.C., in the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew. In 2013, a Texas couple on vacation in Florida found two matching halves of a megalodon’s tooth.